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From: Debbie Reese <dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 11:19:46 -0600
The list of actions was written up by Sarah Hamburg. Thank you, Sarah, for compiling it! I agree with Ebony and Edith--it can and should circulate widely.
There's so much more we could talk about. Elsa pointed to Arab/Muslim invisibility in the discussion. There is a similarity, actually, in depictions of Arab/Muslim's and American Indians/First Nations as savage, less than human, etc.
I think that literature (Matchlock Gun is one example) that presents a people as less-than-human plants a seed that can be nurtured, as needed, at war time. We saw that at work in remarks of soldiers in recent US wars who came back and said "We were like Custer. We were surrounded." (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/14/sprj.irq.pows/index.html?iref=mpstoryview)
Categories are fraught. That's another point that Elsa brought up. American Indian scholars (me, too) point out that "people of color" doesn't work well for us because we are sovereign nations comprised of many peoples of color who may or may not--in fact--have darker skin or hair (http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/we-are-not-people-of-color.html).
One thing I'd like to add to that list Sarah compiled is a greater awareness of representation overall in the U.S. Tomorrow night, millions will watch the Academy Awards. Will Johnny Depp's red face win something? Native activists will be tweeting using the hashtag #NotYourTonto, starting tonight, in an effort to draw awareness to that ongoing problem. Lee and Low's graphic on how white the motion picture industry is got picked up by the NY Times: http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/the-academy-and-diversity-by-the-numbers/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=fb-share&_r=0
Earlier we were tweeting regarding mascots. Speaking up about mascots at your local school or state would be another step we could take. Somewhere here in Illinois there's a school with a "Rajah" mascot. http://www.ah.k12.il.us/vnews/display.v/ART/52682bdb97b86 And in California, there's an Arab mascot: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/us/schools-arab-mascot-draws-fire-in-california-valley-that-prizes-dates.html?hpw&rref=education
Lot of work to do! Thanks again, Sarah, for compiling the list.
Debbie
__________________________________________________________ Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo
Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com
Website: American Indians in Children's Literature
_at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net
Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 11:19:46 -0600
The list of actions was written up by Sarah Hamburg. Thank you, Sarah, for compiling it! I agree with Ebony and Edith--it can and should circulate widely.
There's so much more we could talk about. Elsa pointed to Arab/Muslim invisibility in the discussion. There is a similarity, actually, in depictions of Arab/Muslim's and American Indians/First Nations as savage, less than human, etc.
I think that literature (Matchlock Gun is one example) that presents a people as less-than-human plants a seed that can be nurtured, as needed, at war time. We saw that at work in remarks of soldiers in recent US wars who came back and said "We were like Custer. We were surrounded." (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/14/sprj.irq.pows/index.html?iref=mpstoryview)
Categories are fraught. That's another point that Elsa brought up. American Indian scholars (me, too) point out that "people of color" doesn't work well for us because we are sovereign nations comprised of many peoples of color who may or may not--in fact--have darker skin or hair (http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/we-are-not-people-of-color.html).
One thing I'd like to add to that list Sarah compiled is a greater awareness of representation overall in the U.S. Tomorrow night, millions will watch the Academy Awards. Will Johnny Depp's red face win something? Native activists will be tweeting using the hashtag #NotYourTonto, starting tonight, in an effort to draw awareness to that ongoing problem. Lee and Low's graphic on how white the motion picture industry is got picked up by the NY Times: http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/the-academy-and-diversity-by-the-numbers/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=fb-share&_r=0
Earlier we were tweeting regarding mascots. Speaking up about mascots at your local school or state would be another step we could take. Somewhere here in Illinois there's a school with a "Rajah" mascot. http://www.ah.k12.il.us/vnews/display.v/ART/52682bdb97b86 And in California, there's an Arab mascot: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/us/schools-arab-mascot-draws-fire-in-california-valley-that-prizes-dates.html?hpw&rref=education
Lot of work to do! Thanks again, Sarah, for compiling the list.
Debbie
__________________________________________________________ Debbie Reese, PhD Tribally enrolled: Nambe Pueblo
Email: dreese.nambe_at_gmail.com
Website: American Indians in Children's Literature
_at_ http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.net
Now: Studying for MLIS at San Jose State University Then: Assistant Professor in American Indian Studies, University of Illinois
---
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Received on Sat 01 Mar 2014 11:20:07 AM CST
